NATION DATELINES

Published 4:00 am, Friday, September 11, 1998

In the same week as one of the worst killing sprees in Aurora's history, three people were found tied up and shot to death in an apartment Thursday, just two miles from the scene where six people were gunned down on Labor Day.

The explosion of violence left police with one youth in custody and three gunmen on the loose.

"I've been here 25 years, and I've never seen a run like this," said Mike Stiers, the deputy police chief in Colorado's third-largest city.

Police spokesman Bob Stef said Thursday two men and one woman were killed, while another woman was taken to University Hospital in Denver, where she was in critical condition with multiple gunshot wounds.

Police did not believe the latest spree was related to the shooting deaths of six people on Labor Day.

Air Force training

planes stay grounded Washington One of the Air Force's primary training aircraft will be grounded for at least another two years, the service announced Thursday in a move that forces the Air Force to screen prospective pilots at civilian aviation schools.

The move means the service is not going to be able to produce enough pilots "to meet Air Force mission requirements in the future," officials at the Air Force's Air Education and Training Command warned in a statement.

In July 1997, Gen. Lloyd Newton, who is in charge of the command, ordered the fleet of 110 T-3A "Firefly" training aircraft grounded after a series of unexplained engine failures.

Six people had been killed since 1995 in the planes - three Air Force Academy cadets and three of their teachers.

Baptist leader finds

forgiveness, cash Kansas City, Mo. The embattled president of the National Baptist Convention USA came before his congregation on Thursday asking for forgiveness for an affair. He got it - and thousands in cash to fight federal charges of extortion, fraud and money laundering.

The Rev. Henry J. Lyons roused delegates to their feet with a sermon on forgiveness that focused on the word of the Bible.

"I want you to know today, from the bottom of my heart, from the bottom of my soul, I am truly sorry. I've come here to ask you, to ask America, white America and black America, for your mercy," Lyons said.

Lyons, 56, is charged in Florida and in federal court with stealing millions of dollars from convention funds to support a lavish lifestyle for himself and women other than his wife.

Four days earlier, Lyons admitted to the board of directors that he had an "improper relationship" with Brenda Harris, a convention employee. The board voted to forgive Lyons and Harris.

Prosecutor: Probe

Earl Ray's brothers Memphis The brothers of
James Earl Ray
should be investigated to determine whether they had any role in
Martin Luther King
Jr.'s assassination, a Tennessee prosecutor says.

Both men have denied involvement in the 1968 slaying of the civil rights leader. James Earl Ray, who was sentenced to 99 years in prison, pleaded guilty but later recanted and unsuccessfully sought a trial.

He died of liver disease in April. Last month, Attorney General Janet Reno announced a limited investigation into the slaying, focusing on allegations from a former Memphis bar owner and a former FBI agent who suggested there may have been a conspiracy involving people besides Ray.&lt;

Latest from the SFGATE homepage:

Click below for the top news from around the Bay Area and beyond. Sign up for our newsletters to be the first to learn about breaking news and more. Go to 'Sign In' and 'Manage Profile' at the top of the page.